Of Stress, acceptance and love
by Whitwhit1893
Summary: Upon being excepted to SFSU, Rona Rodman expects to move to San Francisco to live with her grandfather and uncle, to reconnect with the two while helping to care for her ill grandfather. However, she never expected to connect with a certain chimp, who Uncle Will never mentioned, in a cycle of stress, acceptance and soon enough love.
1. Chapter 1

As soon as she noticed the lonely mailman walk back up her houses sidewalk strip, Rona Rodman with haste in her step, quickly tore open her front door(albeit nearly murdering it) and lifted her hand into her family's mail box. A large yellow envelope lay inside it, with four large blue letters, SFSU, placed strategically on the uppermost part of the envelope.

Rona, nervous, yet intrinsically determined, hewed the strip that kept the once tidy envelope held together, reached inside and pulled out a single leaf of paper.

Her eyes glued to the paper, gaining a large amount of volume as she read over each word carefully, quickly came across the very words she had hoped, dreamed about and worked aggressively for for so many years;

"Dear Rona, Congratulations! On behalf of the faculty and staff of San Francisco State University, it is with great pleasure that I inform you of your admission to SFSU as a member of the Class of 2014..."

Jaw agape, a ripple of excitement and nervousness swam up and down her body, Rona held the envelope close to her chest.

"Rona close the do-" said the tall and slightly aggravated mother of Rona as she approached the open door in nothing but a bath robe, yet she was quickly interrupted by a shriek so unlike anything she had ever heard come from her daughter.

"M-mom! I-oh my god-MOM!" Rona, completely out of breath, held up the paper that marked one of the most important moments of her life, and without missing a beat, Ella Rodman quickly read over the letter, only bothering to read up to "admission".

"AH! Rona, you did it!" Ella embraced Rona, the two jumping up and down, not giving a single care to the strange stares their neighbors gave them as they passed by. The elation between mother and daughter was so deep and impenetrable, that Ella had not noticed her robe slowly coming undone. Nothing could spoil this moment, not even a nip-slip.

After several minutes of babbling and jumping, the two escorted themselves inside, Ella immediately turning her step toward the kitchen, "I'll call your uncle and grandfather immediately...gotta give 'em a fair warning they might wanna pack their bags and leave the country, cuz here comes my SFSU baby!" Ella said with pride as she reached for the phone.

Rona followed, she refused to let go of the envelope. It was just too precious to let go. This was the day, the day everything truly changed for her. Rona's number one, the big SFSU, had accepted her. Sure, about eight other schools had accepted Rona, she had plenty of options if they had denied her. Most were located in California, four of which were located in San Fran. But this was her number one. Her arms were shaking, she was so...everything. Joyful, proud, anxious.

"Will, she got in!...yup she just got it today! Get dad, I wanna tell him!" Rona heard her mother practically scream.

* * *

"That's amazing! She just get it today?...Um, let me see if he's up to it...well, I can't say he's getting better, but he's not quite showing signs of getting worse. Wait let me go grab him...sorry sis my phone was literally just about to die when you called...alright" Will Rodman gently placed his cell phone on wooden table. He could just bring the cell phone with him, it wasn't really dying... He was happy, without a doubt. His only niece had been accepted into her school of choice...which meant she would be moving in with him, her grandfather and...he was happy that's for sure. A deep sigh escaped his lips, one that all but said differently.

Will stood from the table and began to forcibly rove up the stairs to his fathers room.

As he ascended the stairs, he heard a brief, soft cry. One that filled his heart with warmth.

"Thank you Caesar...get that one, the thick one. We can look at that one" a muffled voice came from one of the bedrooms, "That's the one."

Will released a deep, disheartened sigh. This was not a good situation, not one that worked in his favor.

His father, though easily able to lose his train of thought and memory, held deep regard for his granddaughter. He always asked about the young adult, how she was doing in school, what activities she was up to, when they would be able to visit Rona and Ella. And although it was a vague memory and concept to Charles now, the idea of Rona someday living with them in San Fran was something he desperately wanted and was often reminded of(all thanks to Ella). However, the integration of the little ape into their lives was something Will had never anticipated. What made this whole situation even more frustrating was the intuition that Will knew was bound to come true, Charles Rodman would never deny an open door if his daughter, even more so his granddaughter, asked for entrance.

Will continued his ascent, and came to stop in front of his fathers bedroom. On the bed sat a calm, gentle, man, with a book in his hands. Next to him was the energetic and knowledge craving chimp. Both sat at the edge of the bed, Caesar listening intently to what Charles was saying, as he read a fairytale to him, mouth agape and eyes wide, filled with wonder. Scenes like this always gave Will a tickle in his heart, a tug on the sides of his mouth. But the worry, the stress, none of those normal emotions were blooming through the chaos within.

Will grunted, announcing his presence. Charles paused his reading, making eye contact with his human son. Impatient, Caesar tore the book lightly from Charles hands and placed it on his own lap, skimming over the pages and analyzing the beautifully painted pictures.

Charles chuckled, and ran his hand through Caesars hair, breaking eye contact with Will.

"Will, look at him...just amazing Will, truly" Charles said, endearment etched into his words.

"Ah, yeah Dad...guess who called Dad"

This caught Charles attention immediately, "Who Will?"

"Ella."

"Really...what did she want?"

"She-ah...She's actually still on the phone. She's got some news for you Dad."

Charles's eyes enlarged and anticipation ran rampant through his mind. He hadn't heard from his daughter in...4...maybe 5 years. Since she moved up North with his precious Rona, it had been hard to communicate. This was news, this had to be important!

"Well where's the phone Will? What's happening? Are she and Rona alright? God Will...I haven't heard from my own daughter in almost 3 years!" Charles exclaimed, quickly standing from his spot on the bed, causing Caesar to tumble where he had once been sat. The ape gurgled happily, giving his human father a pleasant smile, but quickly going back to his book.

Will felt his back and neck stiffen. 3 years...it wasn't hard to believe that that was the last time Charles remembered speaking to his daughter. But the time had changed. Last time Charles hadn't spoken to Ella in 2 years, when really Ella tried calling at least once a month, and their conversations were filled with what's, whens, whys, and hows, as she tried to help Charles recall their previous conversations. This was one of many signs that Charles was getting worse, but that wasn't what Will wanted to think about right now.

Now, was filled with stress of a whole new level.

"Yeah, Dad, they're fine. Ella's got some good news! Phones down stairs on the kitchen table," Will said.

Charles instantly walked past Will, and hurriedly descended the stairs. Caesar, no longer wrapped up in his book, scampered after Charles, excited and curious to find out what he was in such a hurry for.

Will attempted to grab hold of the young ape. He feared that Caesar might be clamorous as Charles spoke with Ella.

'Wait a minute' he thought. Say Caesar did make a ruckus, Ella would be inclined to ask a hefty amount of questions, she'd want to know the goings on in the house. She'd never let her own daughter move into a house with an ape, even if it were the house of her brother and father. Will quickly let that thought flutter away as he realized he never wanted Ella to find out about Caesar...but maybe...no...this was too much, and could easily turn into a disaster, and the number one cause of potential disaster making had just flown down the stairs without a second thought.

Will descended the stairs in a rush, hoping, praying, Caesar wouldn't make any loud, attention grabbing noise.

Now, Will loved his niece dearly, but with a young ape and adult in the house, things might get complicated. He didn't want anything negative to happen to his niece or surrogate son. It would be better if Rona lived away from the house. She wouldn't have to deal with secrecy and hiding. And who knows how she would react to Caesar, who in turn might react negatively to harsh emotions directed toward him. Both would be miserable...that's just how it would be, Will felt that that would be the absolute result should Rona live with them.

"Ella, how are you my darling! Do you know how long it's been, you need to call much more often...was it now, oh Ell I'm sorry...of course I remember...Well let me speak with her...hello Rona, how have you been?...A-are you sure? Rona that's amazing! I'm so happy for you...does that mean...When?"

Will walked into the kitchen just as Caesar gave a "WHOO" as he jumped onto the table next to Charles.

"Oh nothing Rona, I'm sorry, nearly tripped over myself in my state of anticipation, no worries. So, when?"

That was it, that question. "When?"

Charles played that scenario like it was butter on toast. The deal was pretty much sealed now.

Will rubbed his eyes, while letting out a heavy, desperate sigh.

Rona would be moving in, Charles would never say no to his only granddaughter...there was only a sliver of a chance he could talk Ella out of this arrangement.

Will felt an involuntary shiver run down his spine. Ella was in a good mood, obviously. But he knew, just knew his questioning their original decision, should Rona be accepted to any University or College in San Fran, she would stay at the Rodman house, her fury would be uncontrollable and deadly...but he had to try.

"Well my lovely Granddaughter, we will prepare a room for you as soon as possible so that you can come here as soon as you'd like...certainly darling...ha ha, you bet a hundred trays of brownies...yes, he's right here" Will made eye contact with his Father, who's eyes were glittering with a flurry excitement. A brief second of lost supervision was enough for Caesar to escape from the kitchen. Will didn't even see or hear him exit, too intent on figuring out how to tell Ella, no. For a second his senses came back to him, Will looked at the spot where Caesar was last, next to the window. There was, of course, no sign of the little ape.

Will turned to Charles and mouthed 'Where's Caesar?' Charles faced screwed tautly and he turned to see if Caesar had gone missing. The vanished chimp grew a seed of worry in Charles as he finished speaking with Rona and handed the phone to Will.

Will lifted the phone to his ear, eyes searching the dining and living room. Quietly, Charles began to exit the kitchen, pointing toward the living room, a cue that meant he was going to search for Caesar.

A thankful gleam entered Will's eyes. Satisfied, for now, he spoke, "Hello?"

"Hey Uncle Will! Can you believe it? I'm so excited to move in with you and gramps!

"When do you think I can move in?" The girl certainly never missed a beat, getting right to the point without a moments hesitation.

"Uh...Rona how about I talk to your mom about this for a moment."

"Oh...okay. Hold on" Rona replied confusion laced in her voice.

Will heard the phone being passed to a new speaker, a soft murmur playing through the background.

"Will?" he heard Ella inquire.

Will swallowed, his heart beginning to pick up a quick pace. If there were anything he feared more than death itself, it was his sisters wrath. This wasn't going to end well, he could feel it wasn't going to, but he still had to try.

"Ah, yeah Ell. Um..." he paused. He felt pathetic. He was a Ph.D awarded Doctor, one who studied and was attempting to cure life's miseries, a monarch of the medicinal world, currently being brought to a near nervous breakdown as he listened to the voice of his sister. What fear could do to you, it was just amazing.

"What Will?" he could hear it already, the slight twinge of irritation. It would only get worse from here on out.

But then, out of his peripheral vision, to the right side of the kitchen, he saw a small black blob moving toward him. A blink later Caesar sat in front of him on the table, providing Will an adorable grin while holding out an orange.

A cold sweat formed on his brow and back, and he quickly signed, 'Silence' which caused Caesar to furrow his brows, he just wanted his orange to be peeled and shared.

"Will!" Ella blurted, more tension in her voice.  
"What's he doing?" Will heard Rona ask in the background.

"I have no-Will!" Ella shouted causing Will to wince and Caesar to gaze curiously at the phone.

Caesar signed 'Why' to Will, terribly interested in the hidden person in the phone. She sounded angry and he wanted to know why.

Will quickly signed 'Wait' to Caesar and finally spoke, "Ell, jeez blow my ear off why don't you"

"Well, jeez Will I wouldn't have to if you weren't apparently hard of hearing" Ella retorted fiercely. "What do you want? Rona wanted to speak with you. What is so important?"

"Ah...Ella I-I don't think it would be a good idea for Rona to come...live-with-us" Will said carefully.

There was pause, a very tense, very pregnant pause.

He heard Ella take in a slow breath. Without even thinking, Will roughly grabbed the orange from Caesar and threw it across the kitchen, causing Caesar to yelp in surprise and stare at his father in utter confusion and hurt.

Will came to his sense, again, and signed 'Sorry' to him. He was such a nervous wreck right now, this wasn't going well, this was never meant to end well. He heard Ella pronounce a soft "What..."

"Will? What was that? Are you okay?"

"Uh" he coughed, "Y-yeah, um...so-"

"Why do you think Rona shouldn't come live with you...Will what aren't you telling me?" Ella interrupted with aggressive urgency.

Will had not noticed his father walk into the kitchen area, a lonely orange in hand, and furious expression on his face.

"Will, why on earth would you do that? Look at Caesar, you've hurt his feelings!" Charles exclaimed, causing Will to jump. The act of orange throwing was provoking a full on berating. "And what's this about Rona not coming?"

"WILL!" A strong voice came through the phone. Caesar wore concern on his face, clearly disliking all of the negativity and shouting. He reached for Will's hand, rubbing it as though he found comfort in the action.

Will knew then and there he was defeated, and he slumped into one of the chairs, paying no mind to the elements that were working against him as they marked him blameworthy about this and that. Now he thought one thing, not even Caesars soothing rubs could get him out the haze he was in, and that was there was now unconditional certainty that Rona would soon be living with him, Charles...and Caesar.

* * *

It has been...awhile since I last wrote a fic. If anything, I'm kinda just writing this for fun, not to be serious or anything.

A word of warning, I am going to be changing a few aspects of "Rise" namely the timeline. Certain events, dates, etc will be slightly altered to fit the time frame of this fic. I will also be re-configuring the amount of time Caroline will be shown. While I did like the character in "Rise" I kinda felt Caroline was just...there, not really important to the plot, and that was made more apparent in "Dawn". She really won't be featured too much in this, but will not be dropped.

This fic will mostly look into the relationship between Rona and Caesar. This is, of course, not a romance. There will be a very limited amount of romance in this fic, and it won't even be mentioned in Part 1 of this series. I do plan on finishing this fic(I already have a few chapters done, they just need to be edited), and I do plan on writing a sequel(where that romance, if you're honestly dying to know, will be mentioned) that will extend into "Dawn", however, depending on when "Dawn" will be released on Blu-Ray, I won't be publishing the sequel for quite some time.

This is going to be a semi-slow fic, and starts right before Will injects Charles with ALZ-112, if you weren't able to figure that out.

Please be patient with updates. I'll more than likely be posting 1 chapter per week. I ask for patience, because I have tendinitis in both of my wrists, and sometimes it is very painful for me to type. Trust me when I say I already have a few chapters written. My word count is over 16000 thus far for this fic.

Please, if you see any mistakes, let me know. I'll more than likely be going back and fixing whatever mistakes I see, so the word count may go up, or down per chapter depending on how picky I get. Constructive criticism is something I accept. I don't care for flames, if you honestly don't like my fic, don't read it. Go away in peace.


	2. Chapter 2

Two long weeks of packing later, Rona Rodman was stuffing her Subaru Forester full of the bare necessities, unmentionables, and cargo that was a category above and beyond precious to her. Such cargo wasn't inanimate, and a bubbly smile grew on her face each time she remembered the conversation she held with her Uncle about her little pal.

"W-what-Your rabbit?" Will exclaimed.

"Yup, I'm not leaving Mops with Mom, she won't have the time to care for him."

"Can't...don't you have a friend or someone that-"

"I already asked Grandpa, he said it was fine" Rona interrupted quickly and without a second thought.

"...huh." He sighed through the phone.

Each second that ticked away Rona was looking eagerly forward to arriving at the Rodmans San Francisco house. She imagined spending time with her grandfather, no matter how forgetful he may be, getting to know her uncle, and what she looked forward to learning about most was more about his work.. Although she loved and praised what he was attempting to accomplish, a cure-all for Alzheimer's, she highly disagreed with the use of Lab animals. Nevertheless, all she knew about his work was that he was finding a way to rid the world of the very curse that plagued her grandfather, and that very well could make up for the fact he tested on animals.

Indeed, she was ready to start a new portion of her life with some of the people she loved and trusted most. However there was an occasional thought that briefly crumbled her moment of bliss, doubt would wedge its way into her emotional whirlwind of positivity.

Two weeks ago, her mother had a peculiar and upsetting conversation with her uncle Will. The very notion that Will had presented to Ella brought on a rage only seen when she was deeply insulted. Rona had wondered just how sane her uncle was the moment she found out what he had suggested. Upon being questioned by Ella about why he thought Rona shouldn't live at the Rodman house, Will provided a vague answer, "Don't worry about it...Rona will love staying here there's just something she'll have to...adjust to." After receiving the same answer repeatedly, Ella gave up her myriad of questions, she made assumptions and started going on about dreams, debt, and family bonding.

'Adjust? To what?' Rona would ponder. Could it have been an unmentioned girlfriend, maybe a boyfriend? She wouldn't have minded either so long as she could trust them. Trust was something that sometimes was hard for her to, indeed, adjust to, but that was something she didn't like talking about. If there were a new development with her grandfather, surely Will wouldn't be nearly as secretive about Charles' progress or regress...would he?

Well, whatever she had to "adjust" to, Rona felt she had to make the most of her stay and get over whatever was coming her way.

It was a bright, beautiful, breezy Monday in July. The Semester didn't officially start until September 8th. It was Rona's decision when she'd move, and she had decided she'd leave early so that she could spend time with Charles and Will and explore her San Francisco. Of course she also wanted to wander around campus, with the hopes of finding the classrooms her classes would be held in. Her highest hope was that they were all within a few minutes walk, considering walking halfway across San Fran wasn't her idea of a good time.

After securing Mops, her Netherland Dwarf rabbit, in the front seat, Rona turned to her mother. Ella stood before her, relaxed but Rona could easily see the glisten of tears in her eyes. Ella's mind and heart were swimming with emotions, from pride, to sadness, to joy. She was so proud of her baby, who, sure, wasn't exactly a baby anymore...she was an 18 year old adult...but nevertheless, Rona was still her baby who was off to college.

Ella unfolded her arms, dropping them to her side. The breeze flipped her flannel skirt about. Rona smiled reassuringly at Ella. The two simply stood in front of one another, just smiling. Words didn't need to be said between the two, they knew what the other was thinking. The two had discussed dates and times when Rona would visit in Medford. It was hard for Ella to venture down to San Fran, her work often required her to stay home, finishing papers and calling whoever for the office. But she would always make time for Rona, and Rona was forever welcome into their Oregon home.

Rona stepped toward her mother, who instantly opened her arms and allowed her daughter to snuggle into her chest. The two held one another, words still unspoken. Their bond was never to be broken, not even distance could tear it apart.

"Call me when you get down there, or when you leave the city or when you're at the end of the driveway."

"You think I'll need the phone for the end of the driveway? No way Ma, too much money, we'll get the tin cans out and save a buck."

Ella chuckled at Rona's words. Among the many things mother and daughter shared, it was their sense of humor.

"Be safe, be proud, don't let shit heads get to you, and don't let whatever Will has to show you scare you away. Hell, don't let San Fran scare you away."

"I know Ma." Rona responded, as she pulled away from her mother.

"And don't travel at night unless someone's with you, bring your pepper spray with you EVERYWHERE. Don't step on any sidewalk cracks, I may be old but I'm still a damn fine age, don't ruin the 40s for me...don't talk to strangers..." Ella continued, giving more than a lifetime of advice and warnings to Rona who couldn't help but roll her eyes, but she did so with endearment. The two pulled away from one another, Ella still providing childish warnings to Rona, who began to saunter to the drivers side of the Forester. Ella followed, providing one last warning, and finally kept quiet.

As soon as Rona was in the car, she rolled the window down and revved the car to life.

Ella leaned forward, placing her lips on Rona's forehead, and spoke, "I love you so much Rona, remember that."

"I know Mom. I love you to."

With a final goodbye to both Rona and Mops, Ella backed away from the car, and watched as her only daughter drove away, in pursuit of her future.

* * *

"Alright Ell. Don't worry I'll make sure she gets settled in fine...alright darling...don't worry she'll be fine..." Will stood next to his father as he spoke with Ella, listening intently to their conversation. Rona had apparently left about 30 minutes ago, and she had quite a ride ahead of her, roughly five in a half hours.

Caesar sat on the table in front of him. They had been practicing sign language when the phone rang. Not even a second ring could ping before Charles had gotten to the phone as quick as lightening and began an energetic exchange with Ella.

Caesar had noticed a change in Charles. He had been happier, more playful and talkative. Albeit, Caesar could only understand a few of the words verbally spoken to him, he understood vocalizations perfectly, and Charles hadn't been as vocally ranged like this in quite sometime. Charles often spoke to him in certain ways, but this was different. His father had been doing strange things also, but fun things. Things Caesar could help with, like emptying out one of the extra bedrooms downstairs. It was originally filled with boxes full to the brim with papers. They had moved so many boxes downstairs.

Caesar felt a rumble in his belly and gave it a poke before reaching for Will.

'Hungry, would like grapes,' Caesar signed before pointing to the fridge. Will gently smiled and rubbed Caesars arms before pulling him from the table. Will often made Caesar do tasks by himself, to promote independence. Ape psychology was something he needed to know and that he promoted as often as he could. As a surrogate father, it was up to him to teach Caesar until he was mature enough to do everything, if not anything on his own and his heightened intelligence made teaching a very easy project. Thanks to his augmented genetics, Caesar had far exceeded the developmental psychology of average apes, hell even average humans. Usually, chimps were weaned by age four, but still remained in their family groups. Even males. Caesar was a little over two and was already showing signs of weaning.

Despite practically being a walking canvas of evolutionary wonder, Will wanted Caesar to grow up as close to an average chimps life as possible, which in turn was a lot easier said than done. One thing that was recognizable in Caesar that most chimps shared was quite the dislike of change. Change was something Caesar was used to, but those changes were within the confides of the household and were usually introduced to him directly from Will or Charles. Rona would be something entirely outside the norm, and might complicate Wills ambition to raise Caesar as "normally" as possible, however, Will would find himself over-thinking "change" and figured it was just paranoia.

Caesar walked over to the fridge, opened it and dug his way through the cold drawers. After finding the grapes, he quickly proceeded to climb the counter and get a bowl, which he then filled with delicious, juicy green grapes and began to dig in.

"Caesar" Will said tenderly. Caesar lifted his head, eagerly meeting Wills eyes.

Will promptly signed 'Wash grapes. Remember, dirty' which Caesar immediately understood and took action.

As Will monitored Caesar, Charles turned to Will with a sparkling glint in his eyes and a full grin plastered on his face.

"Rona ought to be here in about five hours. Makes sure everything, everything is ready Will...Will" Charles suddenly gasped, catching the attention of both Will and Caesar.

"Will w-we didn't clean the room. Will quick-" Charles looked at Will, the glint in his eyes gone and now filled with panic. " We need to hurry, get all of the boxes downstairs."

Charles began to hasten toward the bedroom by the back door. Will immediately followed him, telling him to stop and attempting to reassure him that everything was taken care of.

Caesar wasn't far behind the two. He was extremely alarmed, and always wanted to be sure Charles was safe. There had been times when Charles had gone into fits and caused problems. The neighbors and Irena, Charles ex-caretaker, could attest to witnessing his fits and would become irate with the diseased stricken man, but those were times when Caesar had to stay hidden. But there was no Irena today, in fact there hadn't been any sign of her for some time, so Caesar could keep an eye on Charles and now was one of those times where Caesar felt the need to be near Charles as often as possible, to make sure he was safe.

"Dad, no it's okay, look" Will opened the bedroom door, showing Charles how empty and clean it was.

Will calmly lead Charles into the room, "Everything's ready for her. Everything's planned out and taken care of...for the most part." Will whispered the last part, and looked to the baby chimp.

"Oh...oh. I see." Charles responded, his face screwing in deep confusion. They sat on the Rona's bed, Will holding his hand out for Caesar. Caesar grabbed his hand and pulled himself onto Wills lap, grabbing Charles hand, while signing "Okay?"

Will nodded and took in a deep breath, "A lots about to change Caesar, and I only hope everything goes well. We need it to" he said and hugged both the ape and his father close to him. It had been roughly a week in a half since he had administered ALZ-112 into his father, and while he had been making a tremendous amount of progress, it was small fits like this that scared the living hell out of Will. Everything, indeed, had to go well.

* * *

So...I'm not particularly happy with this chapter. I would have had this chapter out a lot sooner, but on Monday my primary laptops' screen somehow broke, and I've been waiting for a replacement to come in. I had Chapters 2 and 3 edited(much to my satisfaction) and had to go re-edit Chapter 2 because I really wanted to get it published, and now that I have all I can say is expect a moderately edited version to show up some time in the future.

Thank you to EVERYONE who reviewed, followed and favorited! I'll have chapter 3 out soon!


	3. Chapter 3

This is not the original chapter that I had edited, unfortunately I still don't have my laptop back, and apparently my shipment is backed up. Whoo hoo.

Again, same as before, I probably will be going back and moderately editing Chapters 2 and now 3(possibly 4 at this rate). I will probably officially make Sundays my publishing days, it's just easier for me.

I realized I never included a disclaimer, SO; I do not own the Planet of the Apes franchise, all of which belong(s) to such and such respective owner(s). The only character I own is Rona.

Please enjoy this chapter, reviews are welcome, flames I really don't care about, don't read if you don't like.

Also, thank you to EVERYONE who has reviewed, followed, favorited thus far. I deeply appreciate your sentiments and hope you'll all be pleased with this and future chapters.

* * *

"Hey Will, I'm about an hour outside the city...yeah everything's fine I'm just stopping for gas...alright, I know. My GPS said to take that route anyway...alright, I'll phone you when I'm almost outside the house...bye." Rona said as she hung up her phone and leaned against her hot car. Rona felt a number of emotions flex here and there, the most prominent being a tense, irate flow of energy that just wouldn't go away.

This trip was exhausting. She started her journey in light fall attire, a jacket, sweats, the works. Now Rona wore nothing but a tank and shorts, both of which were dripping with sweat. The summer sun came down in blistering waves of hot air, that only lead to pools of sweat forming on her seat and frizzed hair. Being the environmental freak, Rona tried to use to the AC on low, but she moved the plastic shutters toward Mops, hoping he would be cooled down during the drive.

Only about an hour left, and she would finally get to see her most loved relatives once again. As she filled her gas tank, and did all the mundane things one would do while driving and stopping at a gas station, she reflected on her previous visits down south, the last time being 2 1/2 years ago for Christmas.

She and her grandfather were able to connect so deeply, despite his illness. Back then his Alzheimers wasn't too bad, he could remember quite a bit but slips would appear every so often, causing strife and stress throughout the house. She knew how much he adored her, and she practically had to force herself to remember that, knowing she had to remain calm and let whatever came out of his mouth not bother her. There were times when it seemed he was adoring a younger Rona, rather than the present Rona. Her conversations with Charles would sometimes seem normal and as though there wasn't a single thing wrong with him, but there were those times when they were conversing, questions would pop out of Charles mouth that would leave her feeling distraught. Questions like "How's that Volcano coming along for your science fair?" were questions meant for the past, not the now. Hope was something that had been draining out of Rona and Ella for years, and there was nothing that they could do. Knowing that it continued to tear holes in both of their hearts.

Thereafter, with each monthly call, Rona would witness her mothers face drop more and more, the sparkle in her eyes losing their shiny luster. He was getting worse and even though Will was working so hard, and struggling, to find a cure, there was simply no light at the end of the cursed tunnel.

However, and for once, Rona could see a light in her mothers eyes, like a phoenix arising from its sullen ashes. Roughly a week before Rona departed on her hot and sudorific trip, Ella had a received a call from Will, who told of news neither were expecting, but was nevertheless prayed for night and day but whatever God or Goddess was then presently at mind. Charles was showing signs, albeit modest signs, that he was...progressing. Before Will could lay down the dismal prospect that they shouldn't get their hopes up, Ella demanded he keep his pessimism to himself and let her enjoy the small bud of hope that had begun to blossom within her. Ella had also told Rona to call her, and tell her if the signs were present once she was settled in.

Rona hoped her presence would bring a little light into her grandfathers world, and even allowed herself some pride, believing Charles progress was because he was happy she was going to be living with him and Will, and maybe that was the Alzheimer cure. Happiness.

'Heh, how silly of me.' She would think to herself. If only that were the case.

Alzheimer. What a terrible disease and one that just _had_ to curse one of the kindest and gentlest people Rona had ever known.

After filling her gas tank, and making sure Mops had fresh, cool water, she began the final leg of her journey, with a heavy heart but an open mind.

* * *

Will tapped his foot, anxiety coursing through his body. It was decided between him and Charles that they would hide Caesar in his room until they felt it was the appropriate to expose him to Rona.

They made sure all of the windows were closed, hoping to prevent the neighbors from overreacting if they heard vocalizations that indicated something very wrong was happening in the Rodman house. Rona would be arriving at a decent time, right after noon, when most people would still be at work.

Earlier, Will had gone to the supermarket to gather some of Rona's favorite foods. They would need to go grocery shopping soon, but what he had gathered would be enough for a little while.

As he was putting away a bag of grapes, his phone rang.

He quickly checked the Caller ID. It read 'Rona'. He swallowed, hard and an slowly proceeded to answer the phone, "Hey Rona."

"I'm right outside your house! Get grandpa and come help me bring stuff in!" He heard Rona announce excitedly. She sounded like she was on a complete high, she spoke so quickly and breathlessly.

"I've got some stuff on the curb but you gotta get the bigger stuff out for me."

"Great! Great Rona, I'll be right out."

He heard her laugh as she hung up her phone.

Will pinched the space in between his eyes. The moment was here and there was no going back...unless Rona was so terrified that she would run right out of the house and back to Oregon. She probably wouldn't even bother putting the key in the ignition, she'd just run. That thought gave will both relief and chills, and he reminded himself that the reason he never told Ella about Caesar was so that she wouldn't come down to San Fran just to wring his neck and take their dad away, imagine if her own daughter came frantically running back to Oregon with news that Uncle Will was living with a chimp. It'd be like Godzilla descended upon the Rodman house. Wouldn't that give the old ladies something to talk about at their next Bridge game.

"Caesar!" He hollered and heard quick movement from the living room. From around the corner Caesar came barreling into the kitchen and jumped onto Will, who was barely able to clutch onto him.  
"Woah! Woah buddy, a bit over the top today aren't we?" Will chuckled as he held onto the ape and began to ascend the stairs as quickly as he could.

Once at the top he pulled down the stairs that led to the attic and carried Caesar up to his bedroom.

Caesar released himself from Wills arms and swung onto the banister before plopping down onto his bed.

The ape proceeded to roll onto his back and flopped around. Will grinned as he watched his surrogate son, but quickly remembered his niece, the glow quickly decimating.

"Caesar." He called and the chimp brought his attention to Will.

"Caesar, stay here. Stay. Wait until I come back here for you. Do. Not. Leave. Okay" Will finished signing and watched as Caesars face screwed up with confusion.

Will retained a serious and demanding look on his face, which Caesar felt slightly intimidated by. Will was in complete boss mode and Caesar knew something was going on and quickly connected the dots.

Will had asked Caesar what he thought of someone new moving into the house earlier in the week. Caesar had asked if they were going to be like Irena, if whoever they were would only come over once in a while and if he'd have to hide like before.

"I not like that. Hiding not fun."

When Will had responded no, Caesar felt...antsy. That meant change, and change wasn't something he was too fond of, but the prospect of actually being involved with this person made him feel special. Change could be both bad and good, but Caesar felt willing, and he would try his best to make everyone happy.

Caesar signed "New person?" which Will quickly responded with a simple "Yes."

"She does not know about you. Stay here Caesar, until I come for you. Understand?"

Although still somewhat unsure of this change, he signed that he understood.

After Will left, Caesar bounded to the window and looked down below, and there stood a human female. She was darker than Will and Charles, and shorter than the two, or at least that's how it seemed. He couldn't see her face, but her posture said she wasn't too impressed right then. As he looked her over, there was one thing that completely grabbed his attention, and left him feeling a wave of passion. Caesar was enamored by her dark, short, tight, curly hair.

* * *

"C'mon Will, I'd swear you were taking your time." Rona muttered irritably.

She had called Will several minutes ago, the frustration was building up in her. She tapped her foot while attempting to count down from 100. What was taking him? She didn't want to leave her items unsupervised, fearing some idiot would come by and steal her things, her fear being most prominent about her rabbit. He was just too cute, unconditionally irresistible.

She sighed heavily, closed her eyes and leaned her back on the Forester. The counting game continued as she watched as a few cars passed by. San Francisco was being lit with a vibrant sun, and thankfully day was drifting into a breezy evening. Oregon was either muggy or dry, in between was a bit of a rarity. She'd swear her home state was giving her a final 'F you' as she drove through the blistering day. But the Sunshine state presented her with a warm, breezy welcome.

A few more minutes passed by before she heard the sound of a house door opening and closing. Frantic steps came down the stairs leading up to the house and she heard an all too familiar voice come racing toward her.  
"Rona!" A heavy body slammed into her, and pulled her tightly to a boney shoulder. "My baby girl! Oh how I've missed you. I've been waiting for this day for so long" She heard her Grandfather practically squeal. Her ears were becoming numb to the loudness, but that didn't matter. Not one bit. And she quickly hugged one of the people she loved most as strongly as she could.

"Grandpa, I'm so happy to be here" She said and began to feel a small collection of tears form in her eyes. "God I've missed you so much Grandpa." And she held her Grandfather, and silently allowed a few small tears to run down her cheek.  
"Rona, what's wrong?" She heard another familiar voice, and looked up to see her favorite(and only) uncle come toward her and wipe away her tears. "Why are you crying?" He gently asked, a small welcoming smile perched on his face.  
Charles pulled away from her, panic etched in face as he looked over her. "Rona?" he asked and rubbed her arms.

She waved her hand slightly, and rubbed her face, "No, no nothings wrong. I'm just happy." She reassured them and her lips breaking into a large, bright smile. Charles and Will exchanged brief looks, before pulling the girl into a group hug.  
"We're happy to Rona. Welcome home." Charles said to her, and before he could even register what he was feeling, tears were welling up in his eyes. He couldn't believe it, after so long, here stood his beautiful baby girl. Not that she was much of a baby anymore, but much like her mother, Charles felt she would always be his baby, his darling.

After a few more seconds of silent hugging, the trio broke apart and began collecting boxes, suitcases and whatever else Rona had brought with her.

Of course, Rona immediately fetched her precious Mops from the front seat, wanting to get him inside as soon as possible.  
Charles paused, watching Rona pull out the large cage from the folded front seat.

"Oh, is that little Mops?" He asked, slowly approaching the burdened girl, hoping not to frighten or stress the little creature more than he already was.

Rona smiled and stared lovingly at her bun. "Yup, and he did very well on this trip. Which I'm kind of surprised about. The last time he was in a car was when he was a baby. I'm so proud of my little boy." She continued her motherly gushing and let her grandfather look closer at him. "When I get settled in I'll let him out so that he can get adjust, which hopefully shouldn't take to long, I remember your living room was big, he'll love it..."

Will paused his ascent up the stairs, a trickle of anxiety running down his spine. "Wait, I though he was going to be in your room?" He asked, sweat running down his brow.  
Rona hesitated, shifting her eyes about. "Well, that's one thing we kinda have to talk about." She followed her uncle up the stairs, "while my room will be good place to let him out for now, he'll eventually need a lot of space to run around...so I was wondering if he could be allowed to run around the living room and kitchen..." she slowed her speech as Will turned to her, his face ablaze with bewilderment, but she noticed a twinge of panic set in his eyes.

Wills eyes drifted to the small...very small gray otter rabbit.

"He...needs that much space?"

Rona responded with a shrug. "Netherland Dwarfs are an energetic, spastic breed. He may be small, but he needs to let out a lot of steam. If you don't want me to let him out in those areas, I'm sure we can work something out." She said without a stammer.

Will was impressed, she took her rabbit care seriously. Impression, of course, was met almost immediately with a vicious plunder of hysteria. This was just too much, he'd be growing gray hair soon enough. How would Caesar react to this? How would she react to Caesar? Hell, how would the rabbit react to everything?!

"Oh god." Will whispered to himself over and over again and continued up the stairs, Charles and Rona following closely behind him, too excited about the moment to even notice his distress.

It took several minutes before all of Rona's possessions were inside the house. Rona quite liked her new room, it was spacious, and enough so that a regular sized bed could fit inside it without ultimately swallowing everything.

Although she loved the amount of space she would have, it was the adjoining singular bathroom that had her feeling hyped. Sure, it was small, too small for a bathtub, just a shower, but she'd rather have a bathroom to herself than use one that everyone used.

After everything was put into her room, the trio convened in the dining room, setting out a few snacks, Charles telling her about the lovely park up the street, Will suggesting they take a trip to Alcatraz, and Rona enjoying the ambiance surrounding them.

"History is such an interesting field to enter my dear, are you specializing in anything?" Charles asked, virtually on the edge of his seat.

"Yes, actually. I'm more of an ancient lover than anything else, which is why I might minor in Archeology. I'd love to focus on Mesopotamia, or Egypt." Her answer received a hearty laugh from her grandfather.

Pointing to the air, he waggled his index finger, while spouting out "That's my girl! You'll do fantastic, wondrous things in life. Why I wouldn't be surprised if you find the bones of ole Cleopatra!"

This went on for a good hour, and with each passing second Rona could see, feel the change in Charles. She was waiting for a slip, any kind of slip. Nothing, he just trudged on like a train. No questions about old school volcano projects, or what she thought of her new My Little Pony doll(she wouldn't admit it to anyone but she was still collecting MLP dolls), or why he hadn't gotten a birthday card from her lately. Maybe, just maybe, happiness was the remedy, the key of disease.

As they finished their conversing, everyone theirs brought bowls and glasses back to the kitchen, Rona feeling eager to begin unpacking, quickly retreated to her room, asking her relatives if they'd like to help. Of course, Charles, moreso, Will were beginning to literally sign about Caesar behind Rona's back. Charles felt she was going to surprised but accept the ape, while Will stressed over her reaction, feeling that acceptance was not going to come so easily between the two.

As they signed away, neither realized just how frantic Caesar was becoming. That girl, why hadn't Will come to get him yet, he wanted to see her, smell her, and most of all touch her hair. She was the change, and she needed to be integrated as quickly as possible.

He couldn't go downstairs, Will had made it very clear that he couldn't until he came and got him...but it was becoming to much to bare!

* * *

After what felt like forever, Caesar finally let his impatience burst forth, and` jumped onto a banister and flung himself to the ground with a loud THUD.

Rona paused her folding, as did Charles and Will, who immediately stood from her bed.

They waited a few more seconds, not a sound was made.

THUD

A second heavy noise came from above them.

Rona turned to her uncle. "Will?" He did not gaze at her, merely looked to his father, who gave him an encouraging nod.

THUD

Rona stood, completely alert. She could hear Mops making his own noise, a few desperate thumps to signal his alarm.

"What is that? Will?" She said madly and ran a hand through her curls.

Will finally looked at her, a mix of emotions swam in his eyes which drifted between her and the ceiling.  
"Rona...I-there's something I need to show you...or rather someone."

"Rona don't be afraid. Please. He-he's very kind, loving and safe." Charles emphasized and stood closer to Rona, trying to calm her down.  
Ronas eyes widened, another THUD, this time more heavy, came from above.  
"Wait, what? He? What are you two hiding?!" She shouted.

"Rona-" Charles began but stopped as Will held his arm and gazed at his nervous niece.  
"Rona, I'm going to need you to stay as calm as possible. What's upstairs is the reason why I had told your mother why it might not have been a good idea for you to live with us-Stop," He held his hand up interrupting her "Just trust me Rona,"

Rona sarcastically laughed, her panic bubbling into anger. She knew she was reasonable in questioning his behavior lately, her mom was damn near ready to charge down to San Fran herself when he had said those words two weeks ago and demand to know why. Everything was just coming to a head, and it was maddening.

"Will, I'm feeling a lot of things right now, trust is NOT one of them. Show me what you need to, now." She said slowly.

Will backed out of the room, and quickly ran up the stairs. Like Mother like Daughter, their wrath was something to fear and amend.


	4. Chapter 4

I am terribly sorry for the wait. I've been incredibly busy with last minute details for this really awesome event the place I intern for is having.

I tried to rush this, so sorry for any mistakes, I'll be going through this story really soon and cleaning up what I don't like. **Chapter 5 will be posted in a matter of hours. **To make up for the delay, I'll be posting 2 chapters tonight.

Hope you all enjoy this chapter, reviews, follows, etc are greatly appreciate. I would like to thank all those who recently started following and who reviewed!

* * *

Caesar heard heavy foot beats come up the stairs. It had to be Will! He would finally be able to see this girl, this new friend. The more Caesar thought about this change, the more he was growing to like the idea of it. There were so many things he wanted to do with her, play, read, sign to one another.

So wrapped up in his own thoughts, Caesar neglected to think what she might think of him. The thought her potentially disliking him was pushed so far back in his conscious, completely shadowed by glee.

So Caesar waited ever so eagerly and the second he saw Wills head pop through the wall, he bounded toward him and wrapped his arms around him.

Will, nearly losing his balance, held the wall desperately while attempting to manage Caesar, "Woah! Wo-well at least you're ready. We're not, none of us are, this could be my downfall..." Will muttered rashly. Caesar didn't mind the word vomit coming from Will, he was just too focused on this girl, that he didn't bother to register Wills distress.

Caesar looked left and right, around each corner, desperate to see this new person. And as Will carried him around another corner, toward the dining room, he finally saw her.

The contrast between expression and reaction was forever imprinted in Wills mind, as his surrogate son held a gaping grin, one saying he was exponentially happy, while his nieces face held pure exasperation.

The second she caught sight of the hairy creature in her uncle's' arms, she felt herself go numb. Fear, anger, adoration, all completely devoid as she stared at the grinning…chimp.

So dazed and unaware of the world around her, she didn't hear her grandfather practically preach to the choir about the brilliance of the ape, nor did she notice the panicked look Will was completely shooting at her. And most of all she was numb to the keen chimp as he tried to pry himself from Wills arms.

And then, she was blasted with thought, each racing through her mind at the speed of light, never giving her the chance to reconcile a single, miniscule thought.

An ape? An ape was living in this house. A wild, face ripping off ape was living in this house, the very same in which her semi-recovered grandfather was living in. When did this happen? How did it happen? Why hadn't Will...Will.

"You have a chimp Will."

Oh, there as that cold sweat once again. He felt it coming, the storm of emotion. He juggled Caesar in his arms as he attempted to wiggle away.

"Yes Rona."

"You have a chimp, in this house. The very same in which my elderly, sick grandfather lives in and who could barely protect himself if that...thing were to ever, EVER go berserk!" Her voice gradually crested, allowing the pent up emotions to implode in one fell swoop.

Caesar stopped his movement, his grin dropping severely. Will and Charles felt stagnate, unable to comprehend her harsh change of mood. Caesar felt her anger, truly felt it. This wasn't normal, if Will or Charles became angered because of something he did, they wouldn't practically abuse him, they'd let out a brief, effective spat, then calmly tell him what he did was wrong and why it was. There was no reason, or at least he believed there wasn't any reason, for her anger. He began to pout, conflicted by her judgmental, glowering stare.

"Will, what in the name of whatever God is out there made you believe this is okay?!"

"Ah-." He stopped, unable to form any sort of response. He knew this wasn't going to start well, nor would it end well. He could understand her shock and frustration. Caesars motionlessness hadn't gone unnoticed, this had to get straightened out before either of his loved ones would do something wholly irrational. A nervous ape was never a good thing, and even though Caesar was different, he reacted poorly to a large amount of negativity, and Will knew Rona well enough to know she wouldn't hold back if it meant "protecting" her family.

"You couldn't have said something, ANYTHING about this!" She pointed an accusing finger at Caesar, and noticed a slight glare in his eyes as she did so, and quickly recoiled, but her verbal instigation did not stop.

"How long have you had him? Don't you think you're putting everyone in danger by having him here? What if he goes berserk? Wil, l have you not been paying attention to the news? What if mom finds out?..." Rona continued. There were just too many questions and a relentless lack of pause in her questioning, Will wasn't allowed the chance to justify himself. But he knew this was going to come. Her questions were justified, she was scared, obviously. The news hadn't exactly painted a good name onto chimps and their owners due to recent incidents that resulted in severe mutilation or death of humans.

"Rona please, just listen." Charles interrupted his raging granddaughter. Almost instantly, Rona stopped. Her eyes glued to her shoes, and a hand raised to her forehead as she mulled over everything.

That's all it took to calm her, her grandfather. The fact she hadn't even looked at Charles hadn't gone unnoticed by Will. Her actions outside eye contact had, as it became apparent she stood nearest her grandfather, almost completely in front of him. Will didn't know if she had taken notice beyond the blizzard of emotion that had been blowing in her mind. It was almost as if, subconsciously, she had moved to protect Charles, and that was so like her to do something like that.

Charles wrapped his arms around Rona, rubbing her arms in round motions. His touch instantly reduced her stress. His presence was just so naturally soothing.

"Rona, Rona, Rona. Just breathe in and out, and calm yourself. Now, I know this is a terrible shock, but you have to realize it was with the greatest amount of care and thought that Will brought Caesar into this house. I know Will's told you about my progression. Rona, it's all because of Caesar that I am getting better…" He trailed off, allowing her to absorb the new information.

As he started speaking again about things she simply didn't understand, or didn't want to, she brought her gaze to...Caesar.

She could tell he was young, having seen what full grown apes look like thanks to visits to zoos.

"He's different…" She heard Charles say, and oddly enough, she could see it. His eyes, they were so full of displeasure yet curiosity hinted its way through the glow of indignation. He wasn't looking at her with a stupid, 'give me a banana' sort of observation, there was genuine intelligence in his stare. He was analyzing her, and now that she had shown him just how mad she could get, he was wary. He was concerned, and mistrustful. She felt she could understand his wariness, and felt almost...intrigued by the ape. However, no matter his intelligence, the fact there were so many secrets her uncle AND grandfather hadn't revealed to she or her mother left her unable to comprehend just how smart he was. There was warrant in her own mistrust, and whether she would get over her present prejudice was something only the future could tell.

"You say this is for grandpa?" She finally spoke, softly.

"What-."

"How is this for grandpa? Will, I'll never understand why you couldn't just maintain your experiments at that lab you work at. So, you have a lot of explaining to do. I want to know why. Tell me everything and if...IF I decide that there is legitimacy in what you say, then I won't tell mom, but I'm not so certain about staying here. Or even-"

"Rona, just sit." Charles demanded, pulling Rona toward the table and settling down in his own seat.

Will held Caesar, and remained standing. If there was anything they didn't need right now, it was another freakout by Rona, so he felt it would be better if he kept she and Caesar a part for now.

He looked to Charles for guidance, but all he received was a curt nod directed toward Rona. She deserved to know everything, and only then would they be able to move forward and start a life together...hopefully.

And so, he told her everything, from the death of Caesars mother, to raising him, to his increasing intelligence, to the injection of ALZ-112 into Charles and his incredible progression.  
"He's cured Rona. I can't say much more than that. I've been monitoring both of their progress, and it's simply astounding how far both are coming. Caesars a little over two years old now, he should have the intelligence of a second grader, but he's nearing fourth grade. And look," Will hurried off to the kitchen. Rona heard rustling, papers being moved, and the occasional curse from Will, who was most likely struggling with multitasking. He finally rushed out, holding a bulging folder full of papers.

Without realizing, Will stepped over the physical barrier he had established between Caesar and Rona and settled Caesar down on a chair across from Rona and began to lay out graph sheets, each with lines descending at particular points and sharply rising at others.

Rona immediately felt uncomfortable with the chimp seated across from her, and tried to nudge her chair further away from the table, which proved slightly difficult to do thanks to the high carpet.

"The beginning may not look like much, that's because, while the injection did show immediate promise, the progression was slow, sometimes almost nonexistent, until about three days after the injection point, which is here," he pointed the the second graph sheet "This is where dad took a dramatic turn for the better. These dips signal brief, very brief slips, but otherwise his progress has just skyrocketed. Rona don't you see?" Will turned to Rona, grasping her shoulders, "This injection, the very same medicine that has given Caesar his heightened intelligence, has given Charles, your grandfather another chance at living, without forgetting, without worry, without Alzheimer." He paused, tightening his hold on Rona.

He looked for a response, waited for one, but nothing came. She turned to face Caesar, and he had not moved since she was forced to look over the data. She should have felt disgusted, angered, ready to pack everything into her car, even her grandfather. Yet, like a sprout coming from the earth, she felt in the depths of her mind, hope. And it continued to bloom, becoming a sapling, and soon enough a young tree.

She turned to Charles and placed her forehead on his.  
"Do you want me to stay?" She asked warmly, yet uncertainty wove itself into her voice.

Charles simply nodded before bringing her in for a much needed hug.

Feeling his nod, she sighed, and turned to Caesar again, who's stare was unmoved from her.

"Just give me time. That's all I ask for."


	5. Chapter 5

Here's chapter 5, just like I said.

A side note, I may or may not post bi-weekly as the semester starts. Not only will I be focusing on school, but another internship. I'll try my hardest to get posts out on a weekly basis, but please rest assured that if I don't post one week after another, that means two chapters will be released together on the bi-weekly schedule.

Reviews and follows are much appreciated! Thank you all for your patience! Enjoy!

* * *

The first couple of days of her stay were, awkward. Rona had required further explanation from Will, which in of itself took an entire afternoon to do, and actually found herself immensely interested in the development of ALZ-112, and its effects on the apes. Upon hearing about the cause of the death of Caesars mother, the fact that the incident was nothing but misunderstanding, left her feeling so sorry for the young chimp. Nevertheless, she still felt shaky around Caesar, distrustful despite the high praise Will Charles had about him.

The media had certainly painted a horrific image of apes and just how wrong it was to personally own one and treat it as though it were family. Too many people had been damaged, or worse, killed as a result of carelessness around mankind's genetic cousin. Each time she and Caesar were in a room together, she remained tense throughout the encounter, never ceasing to let loose.

Charles had desperately attempted to alleviate her strain by showing her just how amazing Caesar could be. He could sign, like all the Rodmans, which did bring out the best of Rona.

That was they first connected and the first time she didn't feel like the minutes were ticking away until her death.

The second day, she had been busy unpacking her room, placing nic-nacs and what not onto her dresser and shelves, and clothes in their rightful place.

Suddenly she heard the now familiar gurgle of an excited Caesar around the corner, and watched as he ran past her room, Charles followed in brisk pursuit.

Smiling at their childish antics, she continued to put her clothes away before moving to set up a space for Mops to run around. She was so keen on her current job, that she had not noticed Caesar scramble into her room and hide behind her wall.

As soon as she turned and caught his eyes in a frozen stare, he began to sign to her.  
'I hide!' he quickly and earnestly signed, before placing his index finger to his lips and looking around the corner of her doorway to see if Charles was coming.

Her solid figure, for the first time around Caesar, relaxed. Furrowing her eyebrows, she turned her head sideways, perplexed by his sign. She knew Caesar could sign, but had yet to really see what he was capable of. But that wasn't necessarily why she was relaxed, this was the first time they had been alone. He was just being a child, playing a game of hide-and-seek. And the way he was playing was just...adorable. He was being genuinely cute.

She coughed, trying to grab his attention.

He turned to her, his face lighting up as though it were Christmas morning.

'You can hide here. Don't touch anything though.' She signed, and he immediately leaped to where she had pointed, right underneath her computer desk.

"CAESAR!" They heard Charles shout as they heard him ascend the stairs.

Caesar was simply enthralled by the hiding spot, touching all around him, and signing things like 'Pretty,' and 'That's really nice.'

He found her entire room a ball of fun, and then like he had discovered Atlantis, he became vexed by the one thing that he had first noticed as soon as he saw Rona. That curly hair. Rona watched as he slid out from underneath the desk. He hobbled over the the edge of the bed, standing directly in front of her.

They looked over one another, well, Rona more so than Caesar, as he simply stared at her head.

He was short, his head could easily rest on the middle of her stomach. But his arms were awkwardly long, obviously he needed to grow into them. She found it funny that Will would put him in sweats, but could understand his reason behind it.

Both of their attention was briefly broken at the sound of metal rattling.

There was Mops, awaiting to be let loose, but obviously becoming rather impatient.

"You're not even slightly concerned about this ya little twerp." Rona muttered. He was prey, why wasn't he thumping like crazy to alert her of danger?

Nope, he just wanted out.

Rona sighed, and turned her attention once again to Caesar, only to be met with a large, hairy hand which slightly recoiled as she turned her head.

His eyes were still staring at her head, she couldn't quite place what he wanted.

A curl had come loose from behind her ear, and fell near her eye. Noticing her distraction, Caesar immediately went to grab the curl. He just had to feel it, let it bounce and spring back into place. He had never seen this kind of hair, and so wanted to just hold it. So he did.

Their hands met.

Rona froze once again, completely uncertain of what to do.

She couldn't help but wonder what happened to his mistrust that had accumulated during their first encounter. She had seen it so vividly, it was obvious she had hurt him due to her well warranted freak out, but that had seemed to just magically disappear within a day or so. Perhaps it was because he could sense her uncle and grandfathers trust and love for her, or maybe he was just too trusting in general.

Rona couldn't help but wonder how often Will took Caesar outside, and indoor setting was just unnatural for an ape, he couldn't learn that the world really wasn't something to trust, so she figured she'd question him about his raising of Caesar later.

But those thoughts were overshadowed by intense fear, as thoughts of death flashed in her head. A baby chimp may not have been nearly as much of a threat as an adult, but Caesar, if he wanted, could easily destroy her without a second thought. So she let him hold the strand of hair that had fallen, and watched as he rubbed it between his fingers. His mouth had formed into an "O" but no noise came from him as he marveled at the brown curl.

His fingers steadily moved up, until they reached her scalp, and he began to softly rub.

A new feeling emerged within the depths of fear, and it swam into her heart. Awe. That was it. This was without a doubt a horrifying experience, at least in her perspective, but it was also jaw dropping how soothing his touch was.

"That means he likes you."

Caesar and Rona turned at the sound of Wills voice. He was still in his work clothes, having just come home, and leaned against Ronas' door frame. "Grooming. In ape language grooming means they're showing reverence and respect. I'm actually kinda surprised he'd try and do this so soon after meeting you."

"Well he's kinda been staring at my hair for a good ten minutes, I sorta expected him to pounce on my head any minute. I'm just...startled that he would approach after, well, my freak out."

Will shook his head, laughing as he walked into her room, "That actually makes sense. My hair can be curly, but it's not as...long, luscious and voluminous as yours." Will stroked the air around him, pretending to have "long, luscious and voluminous" hair.

Rona giggled, "No, but I'll tell ya what, you can have mine...for a price." Caesar had yet to pull his hand away, but focused on Rona and Wills interaction.

Another rattle came from Mops' area. Will walked over and crouched beside the cage, the rabbit was hardly deterred from his endeavor, and continued to pull at the wire.

Will beckoned Caesar to come over to him, who hesitantly let go of the curl.

Rona felt dismay arise once again, and carefully watched as Will took Caesars' hand and slipped it in between the wire, stroking Mops' head ever so gently.

The rabbit didn't move and wasn't poised to start a tantrum. His posture told Rona he was calm. She felt somewhat flustered, so many surprises in one day. In reality, the prey, Mops, ought to be making a scene if cornered by the predator, Caesar. But it appeared to her as though there was mutual trust between what should be prey and predator.

"How would you feel being caged up all day?" Will suddenly asked, directing his question to Rona. He received a quick slap to the shoulder and looked up to see his niece standing a few feet away from his crouched form

"Oh, don't give me that bull." She'd respond and quickly referred to where he worked.

"Hey, I'm just saying, you should try letting him out. How long has he been in here?"

"Well, I was, but Caesar and gramps were playing hide and seek. Then Caesar decided to hide in my room and I'm just _really _uncertain about..." She trailed off.

Will nodded, understanding her stance on the matter. Just like he considered Caesar to be his child, Rona considered Mops as hers, and wanted to protect him.

"Well, you told me you wanted to eventually let him have free access to the living and dining room, Ro, you'll have to learn to trust Caesar-"

"Well I don't have to yet." She retorted sharply.

Will wanted to slap himself. Things had obviously been going swimmingly until he showed up, but what he said was true, and Rona knew it. There needed to be co-existence in the house, so unless she was fine with letting the rabbit roam in her room for the next four years, she'd have to adapt to the change.

Caesar then did something that completely took both humans by surprise. Sensing a drastic change in mood, Caesar bounded from Wills lap, and slowly approached Rona. As soon as he was by her side, he held his hand out, palm side up.

It was almost like he was asking for a high-five, and before Will could explain the surprising gesture, she had placed her hand in his. Caesar closed his hand around hers, and bowed his head.

There was a moment of silence. Rona dared not pull away from Caesar, but she did not realize what hand holding meant to chimps. Will did, however, and cleared his throat to catch her attention.

"It looks like you'll have no choice but to start trusting him Ro. He has trust in you. Look at what he just did," Will stood and wrapped his hand around her shoulder. "I realize I may be asking for much. But try to trust him Ro, please. I swear, he will never hurt you."

Their first connection had been made, and Rona could only guess how far it could go. She had to let everything fall into place, or else she'd have to find a new place to live and explain why she was to a very easily provoked mother.


	6. Chapter 6

I'm sorry there's only going to be one chapter update instead of two. My school books literally just came and I have had a lot of readings to catch up on.

I kinda consider this a filler chapter. Soon enough there will be a time skip, that will hurtle this story into the movie time frame.

Enjoy this chapter! And a BIG thanks to everyone who followed, reviewed, etc!

* * *

"That's bull!" Rona shouted as she slammed her Hanafuda hand down, not caring that some of the little wooden cards fell onto the floor and thus eliciting an annoyed grunt from her uncle.

"Look, luck was in my sight, I took it, stop being a child." Will said as he bent down to pick up the cards.

Rona groaned, flopping her head back over the chair.

It was Sunday and none of the Rodmans had anything to do. Will was excused from work for two days, meaning relaxation was within his foresight, but upon heading upstairs for good ole nap on his first night off, Rona snatched him up for a game of Koi Koi. Of course Will attempted to reject Ronas advances, demanding a nap for his tired worn body but Caesar came along and further encouraged him to teach him a new, fun game.

Caesar touched and rubbed the tiny cards, marveling over the simplicity of the cards but as well the remarkable beauty painted onto each and as niece and uncle played on, he took great joy in watching his new friend become frustrated over her extreme lack of luck.

Rona heard Caesar hoot, and lifted a warning finger at the ape "You hush. I'm usually INCREDIBLE at this game. I don't need your mockery!" She whined and dropped her hand loosely at her side.

Will smirked, and began to deal another game. They were playing for 12 months, as usual.

Caesar giggled and graciously took a new card from Will.

"Ya know, maybe karmas biting you back for keeping me from my much deserved nap."

"Don't. I don't need your squalling...you don't deserve a nap for what you do anyway." She muttered under her breath, but her comment was heard by Will.

They were silent for a moment, each figuring out their hand and what their next course of action would be, but Will felt troubled by her comment. He had told her Gene-Sys had gotten rid of the chimps...right? She never lingered on the topic but when it was brought up he felt distressed over her demeaning words.

"Hey Rona?"

"What? Hurry up, I think I actually have a chance this time."

"Well...Ro I did tell you that we got rid of the chimps...right?" He met her gaze, her eyebrows lifting up.

"Yes, but Gen-Sys couldn't have gotten rid of all of them, right?" She questioned and dealt her first. She was preparing for a Semi-Bright, potentially Full.

"Well, yeah, actually. We don't have anymore of the chimps, but we are testing at other locations right now."  
Rona sent him an obscured look. She didn't like animal testing of any kind, and still felt incredibly sad for Caesar and his mother. What any animal went through in a lab was undeserved, unethical and cruel. But that's where she felt conflicted, considering the walking miracles that were her grandfather and Caesar.

Will mimicked her glare, "How many times am I going to have to say that my research is virtually complete thanks to Charles and Caesar. I don't need to touch any other animal for y own gain."

"Then why keep going back?" She asked regardless of the fact she knew the answer.

Will, shrugged, matching his cards and forming a Yaku.

"Money. The need to live."

"I mean, I understand bu-DON'T YOU DARE!" She shouted and grabbed the sneaking hand that crept toward a card she was particularly in desperate need of.

She glared at Caesar, holding his hand firmly, but of course not enough to cause him any sort of harm.  
"That is Crane and Sun. If that goes missing, , I lose my chance at a Full Bright. Leave. It. Alone." She growled and let go of his hand.

'Lil shit' She thought as he gave her a sly smirk and turned to Will.

"You're both conspiring against me." She accused.

Will gasped, pressing a hand to his chest, "Why I neva. I'm just a poor lil southern gentleman with a pure, untainted heart. I play my games right, but I can't say much for my partner."

'What do you have to say for yourself?' Rona signed to Caesar, but not before flipping Will off.

Caesar did not respond, instead he searched the room, seemingly unaware of her frustration.

"If I lose...or if either of you two do something to purposefully make me lose...I won't make my brownies tomorrow!" She announced and amusedly watched as Wills disgusting sneer slid from his face.

If there was anything in this world Will valued most, it was the female Rodmans homemade brownies. The recipe had been passed down from one female Rodman to the next, and Rona was completely capable of making the most delicious, the most savory, the most mind blowing brownies he had ever tasted.

He scratched the back of his head, knowing Caesar did not know the implications that were at stake and if he did something that would jeopardize her win, there would be hell to pay.

"Y-you were gonna make brownies tomorrow?"

"Play your hand Will." She responded and kept her gaze on him.

Only him.  
Will matched his cards, but did not finish the Yaku the could have brought his hand to victory.

"Hmm, interesting choice. The stakes are indeed in your favor dear uncle but don't let misfortune bring you do-" She stopped and went stiff, her eyes focused on a particular spot on the table.

Will felt sweat drip down his forehead, and allowed his eyes to shimmy down to see what she had become so silent over.

...Where was Crane and Sun? There in its place was Purple Ribbon.

A hoarse and held back chortle came from his right, and he instantly knew.

….

"YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

* * *

Charles Rodman had been enjoying his day out in the garden. The day wasn't picturesque perfect, but warm and breezy. He could enjoy this again, the brilliance of nature. Before he became normal, the glisten of the sun or puff of a cloud or the swish of the trees were but passable things, meant to never be admired unless he remembered to admire them. Literally remember to.

His Will had brought him a gift, two gifts really. He brought back his sight, his smell, his hearing, his senses. What little could he find comfort and appreciate in when he was stricken with such a God awful disease, now reversed. Every leaf, every bird, wind, all of it wa alive to him one again. And then there was Caesar, his little boy.

"Heh, my boy." He whispered and smiled lovingly at...everything.

How good life was right now, and now that Rona had become an active part of his life, he truly felt like he was on cloud nine. What more could an old man ask for.

He swept away the leaves that had accumulated on the porch, sat down and picked up the fine black tea Rona had made for him.

That's something they did often now, drink tea and learn more about each other.

And he learned so much about her, her life in Oregon, her friends, her dreams...and most interestingly her father. Of course, being alone tends to bring up either the most wonderful of personal conversations or the most disturbing, and that was much the case during such talk.

Keller Thanes. That was a name that brought a frown on Charles face and one that often brought Rona into an almost catatonic state.

But Charles shook the thought away, not caring to think about Keller Thanes. Not now. Not as long as Rona didn't want him to.

Taking one more sip from his beautifully tempered black tea, Charles rested his head on the back of the chair, letting in the scents and sounds of nature and the modern world. So relaxing, so peaceful.

…..

"YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

Charles groaned, and pressed a hand to his forehead, not bothering to get up and investigate the ruckus. He heard it, the hoots from a certain ape, the anger from a certain granddaughter, and the tears from a certain son who cried for his precious brownies.


	7. Authors note

Hello all!

I'm sure my absence has been rather noticeable, and all I can really say is sorry.

I will begin to update chapters again in November, and that is a promise. It's midterm time, and I am being drowned with work; there is simply no time for me to work on this fic.

I won't specify a date, but sometime early November expect Chapter 7!


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